Study of pruritus in chronic hepatitis C patients.

Aim: To investigate the occurrence and severity of pruritus in chronic hepatitis C patients treated with or without interferon (IFN) therapy.

Methods: A total of 89 patients with chronic hepatitis C and 55 control (non-hepatitis) patients were asked to rate their experience of diurnal and nocturnal pruritus in the preceding week using a visual analogue scale (VAS) and a five-point scale, respectively. Blood samples were taken and serum thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC) levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Effect of vitamin K2 on the development of hepatocellular carcinoma in type C cirrhosis.

Background/aims: Hepatocellular carcinoma occurs frequently in cirrhosis related to hepatitis C virus (type C cirrhosis), and preventative treatment with interferon is costly and likely to cause adverse reactions. Menatetrenone, a vitamin K2 preparation, has recently been reported to inhibit the posttreatment relapse of hepatocellular carcinoma. We therefore examined whether menatetrenone could prevent the development of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with type C cirrhosis.

Serum and tissue PIVKA-II expression reflect the biological malignant potential of small hepatocellular carcinoma.

A sensitive method for measuring the serum level of protein-induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist II (PIVKA-II) has become so widely available that it is now used for the clinical diagnosis of small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). It is known that serum PIVKA-II can be a prognostic indicator for HCC, but there have been no detailed investigations concerning the tissue expression of PIVKA-II. The present study assessed the relationship between serum or tissue PIVKA-II and the biological malignant potential of HCC.